MARYLAND
Washington Blade
By Lou Chibbaro Jr. on March 11, 2012
A priest who refused to serve communion to a lesbian at her mother’s funeral service last month at a Catholic church in Gaithersburg, Md., has been removed from the church and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, according to a letter from the Archdiocese of Washington to all of its priests.
The March 9 letter, written by Bishop Barry C. Knestout, chief of staff to Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who heads the Archdiocese, said the action taken against Father Marcel Guarnizo was based on allegations that he engaged in “intimidating behavior” against members of the staff and “others” at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, where he served as a parish priest.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Washington Blade, makes no mention of the allegation by D.C. resident Barbara Johnson that Guarnizo “humiliated” her at her mother’s funeral Mass at the church on March 25 when he reportedly refused to allow her to receive communion as she and others approached the church altar, saying she was living in sin.
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